Marco
(Jean-Louis Trintignant) is a chicken breeder who is married to the
strong-willed Anna (Gina Lollobrigida). When her niece Gabriela (Ewa Aulin)
comes to stay, Marco instantly falls for her. They plot Anna's death but
unbeknownst to Marco, Gabriela is secretly in love with Mondaini, who along
with Gabriela, plans to murder both Marco and Anna. They succeed in knocking
off Anna, but before they can set up Marco for the crime, he discovers the body
and disposes of it. Unfortunately for Marco, he accidentally falls into the
pulverizing machine. The police arrive, convinced that Gabriela and Mondaini
(Jean Sobieski) have killed Marco and so set about to look for the body.

My favorite
Euro-trash film ever. I have watched it dozens of times and have yet to ever
tire of the many twists and turns served up by the film's labyrinthine plot.
The opening montage of characters and incidents in and around a high rise hotel
displays the talent editor Franco Arcalli brought to the package. The cast has never been better, especially
Trintignant who gives a performance that keeps you in the dark as to his true
intentions. Lollobrigida's subtle lesbian attraction for Aulin helps to explain
why her character has liitle or no use for her husband and spends most of the
time belittling. Brilliantly directed and edited, the film's score will drive
you nuts (yet it's appropriate). I'll always remember that when I went to MIFED (a film buyers Expo in Milan), Claudio Fuiano gave me the soundtrack album by Bruno Maderna. That's the kind of person Fuiano (the king of Italian soundtracks) is. No way any plot synopsis could ever do this
film justice. This film was discussed in the book CLUCK, the only reference
work on chickens in the cinema.